Last weekend, Mari and I set out for a trip to Rincón de la Vieja National Park, a place that always delivers on nature’s surprises. Known for its wonderful trails, I’ve been dying to return to this place after a little over a year since my last time up here.
This time, though, was special. As soon as we arrived in the park, we bumped into a couple of birders from the US who were buzzing with excitement—they’d just spotted a Lesser Ground Cuckoo right at the park entrance and were more than happy to point it out. An insane start of the day! These birds aren’t all that rare but rather elusive. Luckily they hadn’t seen my recent YouTube video of trying to find one in Nosara, or at least they didn’t claim their prize money! A few steps later we were stopped once again, this time by dancing Long-tailed Manakins in their lek. Watching their courtship rituals is so much fun!
As we continue our hike along the waterfall trail, the beauty of the park unfolded before us. The trees towered above, and the sounds of the forest surrounded us. A Buff-rumped Warbler was hopping around on a little stream.
The trail itself is an absolute a gem, with its twists and turns revealing new surprises at every corner. We decided to push our luck and continue up to the hidden waterfall, even though the sun was blazing and we were running low on water. But sometimes, you gotta take a chance for the thrill of discovery.
Eventually, the heat got the better of us, and we reluctantly turned back. But just when we thought our luck had run out, we caught sight of something stirring near a creek—a Sunbittern! It was a sight to behold, with its striking plumage and graceful presence. A lifer for both of us, and a bird that I had for some reason mentally catalogued as “maybe one day I’ll see one but probably not”.
After such an exhilarating day, we headed back to the park entrance and cooled off by the nearby river, soaking in the beauty of nature all around us. Later, as we relaxed back at our lodge, I checked eBird and saw that the two US birders had spotted an even rarer find—a Rufous-vented Ground Cuckoo. We couldn’t help feeling a bit bummed we missed it, but then again, who knows! Had we turned around with them, we never would have seen the Sunbittern.
